SK Hynix's acquisition of Intel's NAND flash memory and SSD business is approved by the European Commission.

SK Hynix has obtained unconditional approval from the European Commission (European Commission) for its proposed acquisition of Intel's NAND flash memory and SSD business. This is another permit for the project following the approval of the U.S Federal Trade Commission (FTC) last year and the approval of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) in March this year. The approval brings the $9 billion transaction one step closer to the final settlement stage of the plan.

According to the preliminary review decision of the European Commission (European Commission), the European Union (EU) approved SK Hynix’s acquisition of Intel’s NAND flash memory and SSD business without any conditions and no further review.

The transaction will help SK Hynix expand its global business network and strengthen storage technology. SK Hynix hopes to improve its professionalism through this acquisition, in order to achieve more breakthroughs and bring higher value products to customers.

SK Hynix will pay USD 7 billion in the first phase of the transaction, and the rest will be paid by March 2025. The company plans to take over Intel's factory in Dalian, China by the end of 2021, so that its market share of flash memory components used in computers and other devices will reach more than 20%. As of the fourth quarter of 2020, SK Hynix's NAND market share is 11.6%, while Intel's market share is 8.6%. According to the research company's data, Samsung dominates with a market share of 32.9%.

SK Hynix and Intel will do their best to obtain approvals from regions such as the United Kingdom and China within 2021.

According to industry insiders, from a long-term perspective, after the United States and the European Union (EU), if the remaining antitrust agencies of the countries also successfully approve the acquisition of Intel’s NAND flash memory and SSD business by SK Hynix, the transaction will be completed smoothly. , This business will bring more development opportunities to China's semiconductor industry.